Dangerous Scam!

Beware of a scam that I consider to be extremely dangerous. Recently I missed a call from an 02 number. The caller left a message, and when I dialled my message bank, I was greeted by an automated, computerised voice, announcing with some urgency that an affidavit had been filed in my name for a tax fraud, and my house was under surveillance. I was given a number to phone, or have my lawyer phone, with an added warning of urgency. The number even showed up as from Canberra. All very official. I immediately checked the number on Reverse Lookup and found that other people had experienced the same call, and identified it as a scam about tax evasion. I then filed the number neatly in my Spam file in the contacts list on my phone.

I know the steps to take to check a number and to file it in a Spam Folder, but for some residents, the call could spark fear, panic, and even life-threatening health issues. The very least that could happen is the unsuspecting person could make the call to the number and fall victim to the scam that this is.

I tend not to answer calls from numbers I don’t recognise and wait for the caller to leave a message. If the caller has a valid reason for calling me, they will leave a message. Spammers and Scammers tend not to. Another way of identifying possible ‘spam’ or ‘scam’ calls is by the number of rings. Spammers and Scammers will usually only wait for 3-4 rings before hanging up and moving on to the next call.

If you are concerned about any call you receive, check with a family member or friend, and NEVER ever give any personal or banking details over the phone unless you know the person and trust that it is a legitimate reason.

There are a few things you can do to guard against scammers:

Refuse to give details over the phone

Check the number on the Reverse Lookup website, or ask someone to do it for you

If the caller says they are from your bank, don’t give any details but ask for a contact name and tell them you’ll call them back.

Look up the phone number for your bank and call them.

Tell them about the call and ask if they had called.

Learn to be very suspicious about calls you get

Don’t worry about offending the caller – if they are legitimate, they’ll understand